Episode Transcript
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CBUS (00:48):
Yeah, we can hear your
little muffles, but we can hear
you.
Yep, a little bit better.
Rocky (01:42):
How about now, guys?
Speaker (01:44):
There you go.
Rocky (01:45):
I don't know what
happened.
But I got you guys loud andclear.
You guys ready to talk somefootball tonight?
Speaker (01:52):
Let's do it.
Rocky (01:53):
Been waiting all year for
this.
So I uh I apologize, as I toldboth of you guys for people
tuning in here.
I'm using a new software, so itjust kind of kicked out on me.
So bear with me tonight here.
But I'm really excited to havethe guys back.
We're gonna have um CoachKramer um was at a meeting
tonight.
Jake, he had the uh sectionthree meeting tonight.
Um but he did say that uh hewould be joining us um for the
(02:17):
next one.
So I'm excited to have him on,and we gotta see if we can get
Medisus on, but he's gotbasketball.
Uh so we'll see um you know ifwe can uh get him on as well
here at some point.
I I have an agenda, guys, asyou guys know, but I gotta be
honest with you, I don't know ifI'm gonna get to any of it
because we could spend all daytalking about this damn coaching
(02:37):
carousel.
Um, with all the coaches goingon, and obviously the big news
was Lane Kiffin and I can hearme.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
I don't know, I don't
know what's going on.
Speaker (04:22):
We lost you now.
Rocky (04:28):
Okay, it's back on now,
so let's see if we we stay on.
unknown (04:33):
Yep.
Speaker 6 (04:34):
Sounds like it.
Rocky (04:35):
We'll see if it cuts out.
If it cuts out, I'm gonna haveto figure something out, but
hopefully we're we're good to gohere.
But um, so as I'll say um someof the higher.
Speaker 4 (04:50):
And I gotta say, my
favorite one is being Franklin.
Is that not a slam dunk tigerfor getting attacked?
Speaker (04:58):
Has to be, right?
I mean, perfect, perfect schoolfor Franklin, right?
Reminds me a little bit ofBandy, a school that he can go
set the culture, recruit well,but the expectation isn't the
expectation isn't 11-1 and youknow, national championship or
bus.
So I he recruits well in thatarea.
(05:19):
So I I think it's it makes themost sense, um, makes the most
sense all the way around.
I I thought it was probably thebest possible landing spot that
he could ask for.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
That's his that's his
motive too, is he does a great
job building programs.
You saw what he did at Van Dand even built up Penn State to
bring that program back where itis, and he's taking a lot of
those recruits with him, too.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
So one of the things
that I said, so when Penn State,
I said it the day after.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
I said, I'm James
Franklin.
Why wouldn't you go to VirginiaTech?
You have Bunchins down, FloridaState's down.
C Boss, he can go to VirginiaTech and win 10 games a year.
He's a hero.
And now you look at the PennState when they, you know,
people said, did you agree whenthey fired him?
I said, listen, I don't thinkJames Franklin's a bad thing.
(06:11):
The record against Ohio State,the Michigans of the world
weren't very good.
He didn't win a lot of biggames.
But I got a question for youguys.
And and C Boss, living inColumbia.
Who the hell's beat Ohio Stateover the last so many years in
the Big Ten?
Nobody.
And it's like, who are yougonna go get?
Speaker (06:28):
Well, I think that's
always I think that's always the
the question, right?
Is is who do you who do youreplace who do you replace that
person with?
You know, my my argument, and II've been as critical of James
Franklin as anybody else, Ithink his game day coaching is
awful.
Um, but from a recruiting, likeJake said, and a program
builder, he's he's definitelyyour guy.
(06:51):
Um, I think that theexpectations of the Penn State
fan base and alumni are probablya little bit out of whack.
Um, I think the the other knockthat I would put on Franklin
that I think he will, you know,will be able to overcome at
Virginia Tech is a couple of hisbig recruits that he recruited
at Penn State didn't necessarilydevelop.
(07:12):
I mean, Drew Aller came in as afreshman heralded, and he
looked like the exact samequarterback from his freshman
year to his senior year prior tohis injury.
Um, and the poor kid costhimself probably 15, 20 million
dollars in the draft.
Um, but I think look, we allremember the Beamer Hokies and
(07:33):
Blacksburg just being anabsolute nightmare place to go
play.
Um, and I think there's noreason that Franklin can't bring
them back to that level um andand and and put them back on the
national scene.
I think it's a it's a home runhire for Vottek for sure.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
You know, I don't
know what happened because
again, if you go back to thisseason midway through the year,
I mean they got they have thelead on it.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
They go in overtime
and score.
They're like a play away fromwinning it two weeks later, he's
fired.
And it's like Penn State lastyear was what, a field goal away
from playing for a nationalchampionship against Northern
Bay.
They come in preseason.
I I'll be honest with you, Ihad him preseason number one.
I picked him to win thenational championship because I
(08:19):
said, C-bus, I said Penn Statereminded me of Ohio State last
year that returned a lot ofguys.
Michigan the year before thatreturned a lot of guys, and here
I'm saying Penn State's gonnado the exact same thing.
That's the model.
I don't so I don't know whathappened for them.
I don't know where it wentsouth for Penn State, but I
(08:39):
think that um I think where he'sgoing, and you can see it in
the recruiting show, all thosekids from Penn State
decommitted, and half of themjust signed to go play for
Virginia Tech.
So I think he's gonna go in uhyear one next year.
I think he's gonna win a lot ofgames.
Speaker (08:55):
Like I think we've seen
with the portal and and the
recruiting class, you can flip aprogram around pretty darn
pretty darn quickly.
I think I think the thing withPenn State that the loss that I
think cooked Franklin was theUCLA loss.
We can all understand theOregon loss in overtime, tough
game, uh, you know, down to thewire, back forth.
(09:15):
Um, but losing as a 25-pointfavorite or whatever they were
to UCLA and just getting curbstomped was was insane uh to
watch.
And I think you know, itsnowballed obviously very
quickly um within that roster,and and it that he lost he lost
that team.
I don't know how else I don'tknow, I don't know what else
(09:37):
from an outsider that I can drawfrom that other than the think
that he lost he lost that team.
And he was there for what, PennState, 10 years, 11 years?
I mean he was there for he wasthere for a long time, so it it
very much could have been thatmessage is a little bit stale,
and um you know maybe those kidsjust kind of tuned him out.
And and again, like you said,it's a lot of fifth-year seniors
that came back and they knewtheir season wasn't gonna go how
(09:59):
they wanted it to go after theylost to UCLA.
So I can see where it'd betough to re-energize a roster
like that when all your goals inAugust were gone in
mid-October.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah, I think with
Penn State, I mean, you look
across the board, you know, likeyou said, Drew Alec, he really
didn't pan out.
And we've seen that across theboard with Clemson, even South
Carolina, that hey, these areall hyperson trophy projectors
they can win it, and this yearthey all have subpar seasons and
they're all supposed to be highdraft picks, and that goes to
(10:33):
show you how important thatposition is, just like in the
NFL.
It's important in college thatyou know that makes that
programs run.
And if you strike out on that,you're in trouble.
Rocky (10:42):
You know who the other
one was?
Guys that I was looking at is Iwas looking at Bob Chesney, who
I'm a huge Chesney fan.
Um, love Bob Chesney, he's anEast Coast guy.
I I said a few weeks ago thatif I was Penn State, I would
have called Bob Chesney up withthe East Coast ties, and I see
that Chesney gets the job atUCLA, which to me, I have no
(11:05):
idea how that happened.
No West Coast ties at all.
But they get a young coach witha, you know, who who's won
everywhere he's been.
I thought Penn State would havecome calling for Chesney.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
I think Penn State's,
I hate to say they're trying to
look for that big splash, youknow, to take a chance on
someone, you know, like him thatthey would probably take heat
for it.
Hey, you let go of one of yourgood coaches.
You said you had coaches inline and you haven't got anyone
yet, and it was almost it feelslike Penn State would think they
were just grabbing forsomething, and kind of
(11:36):
unfortunately he went out toUCLA and took that opportunity.
But I just think Penn State'strying to still find that big
that home run hit.
Rocky (11:47):
Well, I heard this
morning, guys, I heard Matt
Campbell's in play now at PennState.
And I mean, C Bus, I don't knowabout you, but I feel like
we've talked Matt Campbell for along time saying, why doesn't
this guy get a phone call?
So if Penn State hires him, Ithink it's a slam dunk.
I think Matt Campbell willbring some people with the NIL.
Penn State only signed two kidsyesterday on the early signing
(12:07):
date, but now with the way theNIL is, I don't think it matters
as much, but Campbell would bea home run hire, I think.
Speaker (12:14):
Yeah, I mean, I think I
think, you know, I think
Campbell, Campbell fits, youknow, what you would what you
would think to be there.
I I do think that there is alittle bit of a concern from
outs from other coaches as towhat is the realistic
expectation at Penn State.
And I think that I think thatscares away um and has scared
away some of those candidatesfrom that perspective.
(12:36):
You know, like I said, I I 10and 2, 10 and 2 at Penn State
get you, you know, what, six outof 10 years get you into the
12-team playoff, which isprobably gonna grow here in the
next couple of years.
Yeah, um, and it's going togive it's gonna give you a
chance um, you know, at a natty,you know, a good a good percent
of the time.
I think I think Campbell, Ithink Campbell is a is a is a
(12:59):
really good fit.
I I do question, you know, aslong, as long as Campbell stayed
at Iowa State, you know, doeshe really have the desire to go
to go into the step into thatlimelight?
I'm with you, Jake.
I think they want the home runhire.
I think the I think legit maybethe only potential uh you know
home run hire left out theremight be Brian Dayball.
(13:21):
And I don't think he's I don'tthink I don't think they're
gonna lure him to college andask an NFL coach to go recruit,
but I think that's the onlyother guy that I see that would
make me, you know, would make mekind of raise my eyebrows as a
Ohio State fan and say, okay,well maybe we need to be, you
know, maybe we need to be on alookout for Penn State.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Maybe they're waiting
for Harbaugh.
You know, that was the proventracker gonna be to Ohio State.
Get the older brother or getthe brother.
Speaker (13:46):
Yeah, maybe John will
let maybe John has a run in.
Rocky (13:49):
Well, I would have
thought, to be honest with you
guys, when they fired Franklinat the timing of when they fired
him, that Pat Crafty AD wouldhave had a plan in place um when
you when you fire him so earlyin the season to try to get
somebody in place for the earlysign-in date and all that, but
all these guys took extensions,and it's like, why doesn't
anybody want to come to PennState?
(14:10):
Like, great, you know, great,you can put assemble a great
roster.
They still have money for theNIL, it's a great stadium.
What's the reason why all theseguys antied up and ended up
staying?
Speaker (14:23):
I mean, look, Happy
Valley's in the middle of
nowhere, right?
I mean, I'm with you, Rock.
It's a great fan base.
They got money.
Um, it's not the most desiredlocation, I would guess, from a
living, you know, livingperspective.
Um, but I I do also I do alsothink, you know, like I said, I
I also Pat Kraft, I don't knowif he I don't know how much
(14:44):
longer he has a job after hemakes this coaching hack.
If I'm if I'm if I'm on theboard at Penn State, uh my
immediate skepticism turns tothe A D because you did, as you
said, you made the you made thefiring uh before anybody else
did.
And everybody kind of said,what are you gaining from firing
James Franklin in the middle ofOctober when the season was
(15:04):
already cooked, anyway?
And they didn't do much ofanything.
I mean, they rallied aroundSmith, you know, to a degree,
but but you know, that was afterthey had played the tough the
meat of their meat of theirschedule anyway.
Um, so yeah, I I I I thinkthey're looking for I think
they're gonna be looking for anew AD shortly after they bring
in the after they bring in thehead coach.
I I think that's probablyshortly thereafter.
Rocky (15:27):
Man, how about the hiring
though of Pat Fitzgerald over
at Michigan State?
You guys like that hire?
I thought it was a great hire.
I didn't I couldn't understandwhy nobody had taken a chance on
him.
He didn't break any rules.
He was cleared, right?
He's a cool guy.
I mean, I think it's a greathire for Michigan State.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
I remember reading
that and going, wait a minute,
Michigan State fired their guy?
I didn't hear anything aboutthat.
It's like, well, well, sureenough they did.
And it's like they hired himright away.
They almost sound like they gottheir guy.
And I was like, yep, if you ifwe fire him, will you definitely
come?
And he's like, Yes, I will.
So it's a quick turnaround onthat.
But I was shocked to see thatthat quick.
I saw he got the job before theother guy was fired.
(16:06):
But I think he'll be a greatfit there because it's kind of
like someone of a smart schoolcan build there.
And I think he has something toprove now, you know, especially
all those allegations and allthat stuff.
I think he's gonna be veryhungry.
Speaker (16:19):
I thought I thought the
scariest, sorry, Rock, I
thought the scariest hire forall of it was for the Big Ten
was Fiscero the Michigan State.
You know, Northwestern, hemaximized the talent that he had
there.
Um, and even the big schoolsthat went to play them, the Ohio
States, the Michigans, the PennStates, you weren't necessarily
worried about losing toNorthwestern, but you knew you
(16:41):
were in for a four-quarter, youknow, just grinded out game.
And now he gets to recruit uhsome different levels of kids
that are, you know, I'm withyou, Jake.
You know, that they have someed, you know, they have academic
standards in Michigan State,but nowhere close to where
they're at in Northwestern.
So he's definitely going to beable to bring in, you know, some
different, you know, differentcaliber players.
(17:01):
And you know, they're he'sgonna be they're gonna be tough,
they're gonna be disciplined.
Um, and it's and quitehonestly, it's exactly what the
Big Ten needs.
The Big Ten needs those lowertier schools or that have been
to lower tier schools, they needto rise up a couple rungs to
really bolster the conference.
So I was I was very I was veryenthusiastic with the Vizgerald
(17:23):
hire, uh, without a doubt.
Rocky (17:25):
So, guys, Lane Kiffin
stole the show.
Leaving it, leaving it Ole Missteam, which I gotta be honest
with you guys, I don't know howyou felt, but I thought he was
staying.
I'm like, Ole Miss is gonnagive him more money.
You read all this stuff onMarty Smith saying Lane Kiffin's
found himself.
He's getting his family lifeback together.
He's not drinking and partyinganymore.
His his family likes Ole Miss,and he leaves the team.
(17:49):
As I I'll be honest with you, Ithink they got a shot to get
there and play for the nationalchampionship.
I mean, the way the bracket isset up right now, I know it'll
change.
But I thought it was a bracketthat's set up, they can run the
ball, quarterbacks playing well,two great coordinators.
I I just thought it was like,is this guy really gonna leave
the team at this point in time?
(18:10):
And then you see all thebacklash from his team saying
that's not how the meetingreally went down, is the way
Lane's saying.
So I don't know what's true,what's not true, but I heard an
interesting take today that mademe think twice about something.
Because everybody kept saying,well, why is he gonna wait till
after the Iron Bowl?
And and and I think I don'tknow if it was RG3, somebody
(18:30):
said this today, and I thoughtabout it.
I'm like, you know what?
I could see this.
He was waiting to see if Auburnbeat Alabama.
Lane wants the Alabama job.
So was he waiting to see ifAuburn beat Alabama that if the
Bama job came open, he wants togo with Alabama and be a Nick
Saban.
I I didn't think about thatuntil I heard that this morning.
I'm like, maybe.
(18:51):
But do you blame Lane guys?
I'll just use a better job,right?
Speaker (18:59):
You're coach.
I want to, I want to, I wantto, I want, I you you got you
got a better perspective here.
Because I'll give you mine.
I got a good take, but I wantto hear Jake's.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
I think he was also
waiting too, because if Auburn
did win, he was in the SECchampionship game, and I can't
see him going, yep, I'm leavingnow.
So um if that's one of yourdream jobs and you see that you
can be very successful there,it's hard to say no because that
job doesn't come open all thetime.
I mean, last time it was open,they they went after Kelly
(19:27):
almost and got him right away.
And when LSU has a guy site orin their sights, they're gonna
throw it, they're gonna get himany way they can, throwing money
at him, promising them all thatstuff.
And having that NIL deal 25million back into the program
that he can use more for it, andhim seeing how the NIL deal
(19:48):
works with you know, with theportal with high school kids,
and he he can get more of hisguys in there, especially at the
quarterback position and thoseskill guys.
You know, it is to me, it's oneof the top five positions.
Top five jobs in all collegefootball.
So I it sucks with the timingof how all this goes down
because you are abandoning yourteam that's right there in the
(20:09):
thick of it.
But it's also hard to say no toone of your dream jobs.
Now Lane though, even with hisfather saying that, his father
jumped around the NFL andeverywhere.
He could never stay put in aspot.
So maybe it runs in the bloodalmost like he get he can't get
comfortable into a spot.
So maybe it's his in hisfamily.
So that's hey, we might see himfive years from now from LSU
(20:31):
jump to another job or get runout of there.
So I as a coach, I know it'snot in a great position, but if
that was his dream job, yougotta go for it.
Rocky (20:42):
I don't think I don't
think it's I don't think he's
gonna be there long, guys.
I'll be honest with you,because I think he's gotta win a
national championship, get himin the playoff, make a couple
deep runs.
But I I I look back and I sayto myself, the the five years or
six years he was at Ole Miss,what else do you want him to do?
(21:02):
I mean, he could stay there,and I keep using Dave Clausen as
I always do, but he could havestayed at Ole Miss, won ten
games a year, competed for anSEC title, got in the playoff.
The playoff eventually is gonnago to 16 teams, right?
Get Ole Miss into the playoffevery year, build a statue of
Lane outside the stadium.
He goes to LSU, which again, tome, more resources, more money.
(21:26):
He said it came down to the NILmoney.
They have more money at LSU tobuy players.
And Lane's gonna chase thenational championship.
I'm not saying that he couldn'thave done that at L at Ole
Miss.
I think he could have had agreat career at Ole Miss.
I think Lane's a guy that afterfive, six years gets bored.
I still think C bus, if theBama job comes open at some
(21:51):
point in time, I could see himleaving to go to Alabama.
But I think LSU is a better jobwith better resources.
Speaker (22:00):
Yeah, look, I think I I
don't disagree with either with
both of you guys on thestandpoint of LSU's a better job
than Old.
100%.
I think I think where I havethe in some of it the timing is
not his fault, right?
The way the college calendarfalls, it's ridiculous that the
early signing day is you know isyesterday or whatever it was,
Wednesday or two.
(22:21):
Yeah, I guess it was yesterday.
And then and then the fact thatthe you know the transfer
portal uh opens and closes, theone transfer portal opens, and
it's right in the middle of thenational championship run or the
college football playoff runright at the end, I think is
absolutely ridiculous as well.
Um, but I I I what I don't wantto hear is I don't want to hear
the national media talk aboutthese kids transferring and how
(22:43):
the transfer portal is ruiningcollege football when you have
these college coaches that aregoing to leave their program in
the middle of their best seasonthat they've had in the last 25
years, Rock, you said it at thebeginning.
You think they got a chance, alegit chance to win a natty this
year.
Rocky (23:00):
100% do.
Speaker (23:01):
And and he and he said,
No, I'd rather take the money
and the better opportunity.
I'm not gonna fault a guy fordoing that, but I think it's
very hypocritical that we we wegive these coaches a pass and we
say, Well, it's a betteropportunity.
Who can fault them?
It's a top five job, it's this,it's that.
And then I hear at the sametoken, oh, look at all these
kids.
They transfer, they get theythey want more NIL money, they
(23:24):
go here, and then they want togo here.
It's like, well, there is noloyalty amongst any of them.
So I'm not, I can't hold, Ican't hold the players at fault
if these coaches are gonna turnaround, are gonna turn around
and about face and run at thesame time.
So as long as we're under theunderstanding that, hey, look,
if it's a better opportunityplayer or coach, and you decide
to go, you decide to go, fine,so be it.
(23:45):
Right?
But we're also gonna hear bowlgames are gonna come out.
We're gonna talk about thatprobably next week or in a
couple weeks to come out, andwe're gonna talk about oh, all
these kids are sitting.
Why do all these kids sit?
They're not.
I think we I think we'veestablished this is the new,
this is all of college football.
This isn't just a playerproblem, this is everybody now.
Rocky (24:04):
Yeah, when when he left,
I mean everybody on social media
was was all over him, right?
They were bad mouthing them alllane.
They don't he doesn't careabout anybody but himself.
But you know, you talk aboutthe players that get the
opportunity to transfer with,you know, again with the portal,
and then you get the bowl gameC buses you're talking about.
But again, I'll go back and sayJohn Summerle, the coach that
(24:24):
just got introduced at Florida,is gonna go coach Tulane
tomorrow night against NorthTexas.
What's different about that?
Chesney's gonna go coach J JMUin the in the Conference USA
Championship game.
What's different about that?
Because if they win, there's agood chance Tulane gets into the
college football playoff.
So why isn't anybody sayinganything about those guys, but
(24:47):
they want to go after LaneKiffin?
Because yes, he's leaving ateam that's 11 and 1.
Completely understand it.
I still think it's a team thatcan make a really deep run.
I get it.
The NCAA needs to move stuffback, right?
They need to move this back.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Yep, start the season
earlier.
Rocky (25:04):
Start the season earlier,
you know.
I mean, you have to dosomething.
Or just put all these coachesin a really tough predicament.
Speaker (25:10):
Yeah, or just push the
windows back, right?
Push signing day back, push thepush the transfer portal back,
push it all back.
So then that way you can thatway you can open up a window.
This is when coaches can go,this is when movement can
happen, and then and theneverybody can be settled in by
you know mid-March or somethinglike that before before spring
practice, right?
Speaker 1 (25:29):
Well, they always
come back with their students,
and it doesn't fall in line withthe college schedule, which is
we all know, they're not reallygoing to class, they can figure
that out.
It's a business loss.
Too much.
Rocky (25:41):
So, guys, there were some
really disappointing teams um
this year.
Obviously, we've talked alittle bit about Penn State and
obviously Mike Norvell over atFlorida State, another
disappointing year um overthere.
And I'm again, I'm surprisedthey are keeping him, right?
Sounds like they don't want topay his buyout, they're hanging
on to him, so we'll see there.
(26:01):
But I think one team that Iwant to talk about, because Matt
Rule was mentioned for thisPenn State job.
Played for Joe Paterno, right?
Everybody's like, well, MattRule's got the job if he wants
it.
But Matt Rule's record againsttop 25 teams is terrible.
But I look now and I'm like,it's another seven and five
years for Nebraska and MattRule.
(26:22):
Like, if this guy don't turn itaround next year at Nebraska,
he's probably getting fired atNebraska.
So to me, Nebraska was one ofmy teams.
I said, you know, maybe aneight and three year C bus, nine
and three year type like that,eight and four in the Big Ten.
Disappointing year and adisappointing end for Matt Rule
at Nebraska.
Speaker (26:41):
100%.
I I, you know, I just I can'tfigure out I can't figure out
why a coach can't get Nebraskaturned around, right?
I mean, you know, I thinkNebraska grossly overestimated
or underestimated, I should say,joining the Big Ten.
I thought they, I think theythought they were just gonna
pick up where they left off andand the program was just gonna
(27:03):
continue to roll.
Obviously, college football andthe landscape changed, and
Nebraska, Nebraska couldn't, youknow, couldn't keep up and
didn't change.
Um, I I think, you know, again,the the issue with rule is I I
you know they just they don'thave the guys.
I mean, you look at them, thedepth's not there, the the the
line, the line of scrimmage um,you know, isn't great.
(27:24):
Um, I I think I I expected alittle bit more from the
transfer portal with him.
Those guys didn't necessarilypan out.
Um, I think that that fan baseand that alumni is is starving.
Um, and I I I'm with you, Rock.
I I don't think he has anotherseven and five year in him um
and be able to stay in Lincoln.
(27:45):
Uh I I I fully and and theother thing that makes it even
worse is it's not like it was astrong Big Ten Big Ten
conference this year.
Speaker 5 (27:52):
Yep.
Speaker (27:52):
So it what you can't
even, it's not at least last
year you could look at it andsay, okay, the conference was,
you know, you had good five,six, seven teams there that were
that were, you know, that weredefinitely uh of quality.
This year we weren't, you know,Big Ten wasn't anywhere there.
So the excuses that he has isuh are running out fast uh from
from that standpoint.
So maybe he stayed, maybe hestayed because he wanted to
(28:14):
finish.
Maybe he thinks that you knowthey're they're close and
they're and they're ready toready to turn the corner, but I
sure as hell don't see it.
Rocky (28:21):
Jake, what about Clemson?
Your Clemson Dabble.
I mean, he's made some commentsin the media throughout the
season and some frustrationthere.
A seven and five year.
Now they they found a way tothe finish strong, right?
Winning the last two or threegames.
But how much longer?
I thought Dabble maybe havebeen interested in some of these
other jobs.
What's going on with Clemson?
Speaker 1 (28:42):
It was kind of like
Penn State.
They got your quarterback back,you got your whole almost their
whole defense back, andespecially the defensive line
was supposed to be one of thetop in the nation.
And then you get a newcoordinator from Penn State
that's been on that, and they'vealways known for their defense
that hey, he's gonna come in andlock down teams.
And with Klubneck being senioryear, possibly, you know, they
(29:03):
were talking about top ten pickin the draft and everything, and
stocks high, and they even wentin the portal and got a couple
receivers out and had somereceivers developed.
So everything was in place.
It's just for whatever reason,it just I guess it wasn't
clicking.
When I watched the film, it wasalmost like Klubneck was trying
to do too much at times, andthen also some sometimes it felt
(29:24):
like the play column wassomewhat vanilla, not letting
Clubneck be able to do differentthings and do uh you know, uh
Riley having this certain typeof offense and trying to go fast
at times.
But they did have the playersthere, and it's just for
whatever reason this year didn'tclick.
Maybe it's you know, Dabo's wayof being all in this year
(29:45):
didn't work out because hedidn't have the right guys in
the spot.
So but you know, that'sdefinitely a disappointment.
But you know, luckily wefinished beating South Carolina,
who had a down year themselves.
You know, they were predictedtop ten with all their guys
returning.
And you know, luckily Clemsonfinished on a high note, but I I
don't the only job I see Dabbleleaving for possibly is the
Alabama job.
(30:06):
And I I don't even know ifhe'll do that now, you know,
because he's is he is gettingolder and older, and right now
he has a good system in place.
Yes, he's fighting people withhow he does stuff, and it's kind
of kicking back on him, and Ithink he'll get more in the
transfer portal, but I don't seehis name being I don't see him
going anywhere else other thanpossibly Alabama, where he
played.
Speaker (30:26):
I as a as an Ohio State
fan, I would love it if Alabama
took him.
I think I think I think thegame is passing Dabo Ba.
I think this is my take fromfrom uh from Columbus's
perspective.
It it very much feels like tome his message and the way that
he used to recruit and the waythat he used to get through to
those kids has not adjusted uhin the last five, six years.
(30:49):
And I think the message isfalling on deaf ears.
I think he has been reluctantto use NIL, um, which has
definitely has definitely uh bithim.
And look, hey, if he wants tostand on his principles, I'm not
gonna fall to man for you knowfor holding his ground and and
there, I respect that to adegree.
But I I I I just look at themand it feels like the same team
(31:11):
every single year, Jake, to me.
It feels like every time Iwatch them, the offense, the
offense feels conservative, andthen to your point, it feels
like they're aggressive at thewrong times.
Um, I feel like defensivelythey've never um, you know,
haven't necessarily seen theathletes on defense that I'm
that you know when they were intheir heyday and in that run.
Um, you know, definitely feelslike they're missing um some of
(31:34):
those guys.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
They used to always
look for Clemson to find uh, you
know, an outstanding DB thatthey would have back there, an
outstanding balls that justthrew so much at you that he's
throwing out of Oklahoma rightnow, and that's he's one of
those few coordinators like holycow.
And yeah, differently and theguy from Penn State this year is
a totally different setback.
He wants to be patient.
(31:54):
They have to beat us all theway down the field so teams
could dink and dunk kind ofdown, and they're like almost
die by a thousand cuts.
Speaker (32:03):
And I think the hard
thing, I think the hard thing
with Dabo is, you know, Rock,you said it that who are you
worried about in the ACC anyway.
Rocky (32:09):
Right, yeah, right.
Speaker (32:10):
It's it's you know, I I
could almost I could almost
excuse it if I if if he was youknow battling in a tough
conference and it was like,well, these teams came up and
they're they've been better.
And it's like I look at the ACCgo, there's no reason that
Clemson shouldn't be stillholding that crown, right?
So yeah, it's it's going to befascinating.
He definitely whiffed on um DJ.
And then you know, Klubnik, youknow, hey, look, I mean, I
(32:33):
think I'm with everybody.
I thought I liked what I sawfrom last year, definitely took
a regression step this year.
Um, but he's definitely on thehot seat for me.
If I'm if if Clemson wants to,if Clemson wants to get back to
relevance, I you know, Dabo onlyhas that other year.
And I think secretly, probablymy take would be if you're an
alumni or a board member atClemson, you're hoping that Dabo
(32:54):
goes somewhere because youdon't want to fire him.
You don't want to fire, youdon't want to let him go.
He brought so much prestige tothat count to that program, took
him to heights they've neverbeen.
I think the last thing you wantto do is have to part ways with
somebody like that.
So you almost hope that he doesit for you.
Rocky (33:08):
Yeah.
So, guys, the other name I wasthinking about is what about
Sark?
What about Sark at Texas?
I know they got hot here at theend of the year and they're
making the argument that, andlisten, I don't think Sark's got
a bad argument, C Bus, when hesays, what's the point of going
to play in Ohio State and teamslike that to start the year?
When right now, I mean, let'sbe real, if they were 10 and 2,
(33:28):
they didn't make the SEC titlegame, they're in.
So you're gonna penalize aTexas team that lost by what one
score to Ohio State?
But I think the loss that'sgonna come back to get Sark is
the loss to Florida, right?
A really bad Florida team.
Georgia, Georgia waxed them,you know, late in the year.
So I I get that argument.
But again, Texas came out what?
(33:50):
They were preseason, what, oneor two the start of the year?
They were number one.
How much longer do they go withhim there?
Speaker (33:57):
I mean, I think I think
Sark bought himself at least a
couple years with the run lastyear, right?
I mean, he took them to thesemis.
They were, you know, they'redriving on Ohio State to tie
that to tie that game um beforeSawyer comes up with the, you
know, with the strip stack andthe and the rumble bumble
stumble 85 yards for the for theTD, right?
So I think I I think I thinkSark has I think Sark has a
(34:20):
couple more years.
I think, and especially becauseI don't think Arch is going
anywhere, right?
I think Arch is going to stickback and come back next year.
So I think they definitely Ithink Wingo has to come back,
right?
Because I think Wingo's only asophomore.
I don't think he can go out umnext year.
So they got they got plenty inthe tank returning next year.
And I hear Sark, right?
Like that it's unfortunate.
You you played, you played abig school, you played Ohio
(34:41):
State, you had the one versustwo matchup or whatever that was
going in the first game of theseason, lost a close game on the
road, um, and then and thenjust kind of you know they they
took a while to get their sealegs, but that loss to Florida
is just is is so tough to it'sso tough to get over.
And to your point, Rock, ifthey lose to Georgia by three or
(35:01):
four, you know, lose to Georgiaby a field goal or something
like that, I think their case ismuch stronger.
But you you go and you go andget mopped uh by Georgia, and
while the Ohio State score wasyou know a one-score game, Ohio
State was up 14-0 in that gamewith three minutes to go, and
Texas hadn't gotten past the40-yard line of Ohio State for
three quarters before um OhioState kind of let them get that
(35:24):
kind of last second, you know,last minute score to kind of
make that score look a littlebit more respectable, if you
will.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
And I think too, if
their offense was clicking all
year and it was a high poweroffense, and it's like, oh, Ohio
State stopped in great defenseand Georgia, okay.
But you know, they've been inthe beginning of the year, they
were subpar talking how bad Archwas looking.
So it's you know, it'severyone's looking into that,
and now that's why I don't thinkthey were ranked as you know,
they could have been rankedhigher if they were blowing out
(35:52):
teams.
Speaker (35:53):
Without a doubt.
Rocky (35:54):
So, guys, I got up here,
and hopefully you can still hear
me because my mic's cutting inand out.
So hopefully you can still getme here.
But I'm looking at some of thesurprise teams, and I got to
give my guy Mark Carney a shoutout at Kent State.
Uh I told him I'd give him ashout.
I've been bragging about himall year.
So he was the interim headcoach there at C Bus.
Horrible the last two years.
I think they were like one in20 something.
(36:16):
And he comes in, wins fivegames for him in the Mac.
I know five and seven don'tsound the greatest, but he was
in a lot of games.
Got named the head coach.
He got the tag removed fromhim, and he had a great year
there at Kent State.
So I want to give him a shoutout.
And then I think the other teamI want to recognize for me is
how about Jason Eck over in NewMexico?
Nine and three at New Mexico inthe Mountain West.
(36:38):
Attendance was up almost 70%.
It's a small stadium, they seatover 30,000.
But I think New Mexico was oneof those programs like they play
football in New Mexico.
Like I remember as a kid whenwe used to play the uh the tabs,
the games, right?
On the very bottom of thetickets, they were always like
plus 35, plus 30, something likethat.
(36:59):
But hats off to uh to coach Eckover at New Mexico.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
New Mexico always had
the fun offense to watch.
I forgot who the coach was.
He was always creative.
And those were those late nightgames on Saturdays, especially
being a college or a high schoolfootball coach.
It's like, wow, look at thistype of offense going on.
Speaker (37:17):
Yeah, I see, I I I'm
with you, Rock.
I thought Kent State was, Ithought Kent State that's a
great, that's a great pull.
Um, I'm gonna I'm gonna takeone that maybe you know doesn't
shock everybody, but I thought Ithought I had the two that I
circled, one was I thought BYU,um BYU surprised me this year
just from the standpoint of umthey were you know that they
(37:41):
they were they were not supposedto be a whole lot of anything
this year, um, and again foundthemselves in the conference
championship game.
Ridiculously tough defense,ridiculously tough uh line of
scrimmage and and control of theclock.
Um definitely a team that Ithink just just continues.
And maybe my surprise is theconsistency that BYU has put
(38:02):
together.
Um but they're definitely on myradar.
The other one, I always rag onthem, so I'm gonna give them I'm
gonna give them their love,even though I don't think
they're gonna, I think they'regonna get iced out of the
playoffs is Miami.
Um and and the reason I'm gonnagive Miami the surprise is when
they lost middle of the year, Ithink we all said, there comes
the Miami swoon, here comes themlosing four out of six, they're
(38:25):
gonna limp home, they're goingto, they're gonna they're gonna
end the season disappointing,typical Miami, start off the
year hot and and find a way, andfind a way to just absolutely
pee down their leg uh the lastmonth of the season.
And they righted the ship.
Uh Christopher kept those guysfocused.
Um they had their hiccups, buthe he kept that train on the
track to keep them in theconversation.
(38:47):
Um they were playing goodfootball as the year as the year
actually wound down.
Um so I'll give I'll give MiamiI'll give Miami their props as
much as I'm hard on them.
Um they they they earn a littlebit of a surprise love from me.
Speaker 3 (39:00):
Guys, what about Wake
Ford?
What about Wake?
What about Wake coming in thisyear at 84 in the ACC after down
the last couple years?
Um Junior came in this year, 22in the ACC, 24 in ACC change,
uh, which I think is actually20, 2022, it's what seven five.
(39:21):
Um, I think it's twenty.
Um but I I gotta set my option.
I thought it was a little bit.
Speaker (39:48):
Yep, now you're back.
You got a little out there, butI think we're right.
I don't know which I don't knowwhich second answer.
Speaker 3 (39:55):
So guys, the the
rankings came out.
A lot of discussion aboutwhether Right now, Northern
Games are 10.
Miami's at 12.
But I want to ask you guys atthe top here, is it Ohio State,
Indiana?
We'll get into these conferencegames, we'll check in here in
just a little bit.
But I had said that Indianalosers, you know, how far you're
(40:19):
going to drop Indiana, how faryou're going to drop Ohio State.
John Bruden had a really goodtake, and I posted it tonight on
Facebook.
And he said, So you're going totell me that Omix and these
teams that aren't in theseconference championships
basically get a recall.
And now you get Ohio State andIndiana, these teams playing in
(40:41):
the conference championshipwhere now Ohio State and Indiana
would have losed, they're bothon.
If you look at Alabama andGeorge, Alabama loses with the
three losses, but probably.
But he said, take the fiveconference championship winners
during.
And then how about you go playthese other five games where you
have like maybe Notre Dameplays Miami?
(41:02):
Maybe Old Miss Bulls played twolane.
Like have them still play agame, so these other teams
aren't getting penalized rightnow for being in these games.
I thought it was a reallypretty interesting take.
Speaker (41:20):
Not me.
I've been I've been pretty I'vebeen pretty lockstep, I feel
like, with the committee almostall year.
Uh the way that they've hadthese teams, the way they have
these teams slotted.
I understand the Notre Dame umMiami argument, right?
I think head to head, you gotto be really careful when making
sure that head-to-head stillmatters, right?
Um, but I think, you know,again, Notre Dame, those two
(41:43):
losses were the first two gamesof the season.
They're breaking in a newquarterback, uh, replacing a lot
from the national championshiprunner-up team.
Um, and they've been, they've,I think they've had one of the
strongest margins of victory umall season.
I think they're at 26 or 27points as their margin of
victory um, you know, throughoutthroughout the rest of this,
(42:05):
you know, throughout after thetwo losses.
So, you know, I I I tend toagree.
I understand Gruden's point.
Um, you know, Pops and I had asimilar discussion, Rock, about,
you know, hey, what's thebenefit of playing that extra
that extra game?
Uh, you can argue the benefitis if I win, I get a bye.
You know, in Ohio State's case,they get a buy.
So everybody does have to playthat game, you know, everybody
(42:26):
who had to play the week beforethat Ohio State has to play.
Um, but then you look at itlast year, and I think every
team that had the bye last yearlost, or at least one out, I
think, I think three out of thefour teams lost that had the buy
going in, right?
So um the the real question isgonna be I think if that trend
holds up this year and you seeteams with buys lose again, I
(42:47):
think you're gonna see a wholedifferent approach for how
people want to do they reallywant to be in that conference
championship game or not, orthey really want that buy or
not, because do you get you knowa little bit rusty sitting
there?
Um, but yeah, I mean it's Iit's there's no perfect system,
right?
I mean, I think that's theother thing.
We're trying to figure this outon the fly.
We've been we were begging fora playoff outside of four teams
(43:09):
for you know what felt likeseven, eight years.
We get to 12, and it felt liketwo years, one year after we get
to 12, they're already talkingabout can we get it to 16?
Can we get, you know, whereelse can we take it?
And it's like, okay, hold on,can we can we just work out the
kinks of the 12 team playoffbefore we're trying to add
before we're trying to addanother four?
Because let's be honest,they're gonna go to 16 and we're
gonna be talking about team 17and 18.
(43:31):
It's the same thing we do atthe day, it's the same thing we
do at the NCAA tournament.
We get 64, 65 in, or now 68with the playing games, and we
all start talking about team 69and 70, right?
So it, you know, there's alwaysgonna be somebody left out in
the cold that's not gonna behappy.
Speaker 1 (43:46):
Well, I think the
problem is you look at Alabama,
you just said if they lose, theycould be out.
I mean, for SDC to have an themto have an extra game and get
penalized that bad for it, whereit's like Texas AM wins that
game, Alabama's in the playoffssitting there nice and pretty.
You know, so you're gonnapunish an Alabama team that, you
know, let's say they lose toGeorgia by a touchdown or two,
(44:07):
and it's like, nope, andGeorgia's ranked third or fourth
in the country, and they'regonna get penalized that hard
and get kicked out of theplayoffs, which is you know, we
all know that why is theplayoffs not growing so much?
Because the SEC, we want six orfive, and hey, we want six or
five, and everyone else willgive you one extra slot or one
guaranteed slot.
So it's gonna be interesting tosee that if they do bump out
(44:29):
Alabama if they lose.
Speaker (44:31):
That'd be two years.
I mean, that'd be two years,the first two years of the
college football playoff inObama.
Um I have a I I don't I the Ithink the committee said that
they do they they don't want tohold conference championship
games against uh the teams inthe so it's gonna be it will be
interesting to see uh especiallywith Alabama's wins.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
That's the big thing.
Compared to all right, youcompare them.
I know they have three losses,but putting them up against a
Miami even Notre Dame.
It's like hey, they beat allthese teams.
I mean, they went on that run,they beat what, five consecutive
ranked teams?
Yeah, that's pretty impressive.
Speaker 3 (45:08):
I'm glad to give you
your your minute here.
Rivalry weekend, uh the OhioState Michigan game, Ohio State
dominated.
I gotta give this clear.
You're about the only OhioState fan I got respectful.
Even my wife was up fair todown all the time.
She she was pretty good thispast weekend.
But I'll say this when thatwhen that game was over, I
(45:30):
thought Ryan Day handled theflag with about as much class as
we possibly could.
And Michigan was standing inthe middle of the field, and you
know, we know what happenedlast year.
And I thought Ryan Day when hecame up with midfield with Shaw
Moore and said, Let's just getthese guys out of here because
we're gonna go we're gonna getour guys out.
We're not gonna do that.
I thought that was reallyclassy for him.
(45:52):
And then the other thing Iwanted to say was this one uh he
was he was good to Michiganbecause they could have scored.
I mean, they they were thebetter team.
Now, me watching that game frombeing a Michigan fan, I gotta
say this.
And I know a lot of peoplesaid, well, it was a good test
for Ohio State.
C bus Michigan wasn't a goodteam this year.
That was not a test for OhioState and Julian St.
(46:14):
They they were the better teamall year, they were the better
team going in.
I thought Ryan Day, they threwthe ball like they should have
been.
They were the better team.
Ryan Day could have scoredanother day, quite a job, right?
Speaker (46:31):
100%.
I I I I think where I wouldagree with you from a football
roster perspective, um they werebetter, hands down.
But the four the last fouryears, you know, I I had made
the comment a couple times thatMichigan had turned into the
boogeyman for Ryan Day.
And there was there was therewas a mental hurdle that they
(46:53):
had to overcome um againstMichigan.
And look, the way that gamestarted, um, you know, if if
you're Ryan Day, and I think Iheard him on uh bustling with
the boys uh earlier this weektalking to Taylor Wan, and
Taylor Juan just asked him, hesaid, Hey, was there was there a
moment after you know Michiganwent down, scored a field goal,
and saying second pass is pickedoff that you went, you know, oh
(47:17):
here we go again.
And Ryan Day said, Absolutely,at a hundred percent went
through my mind.
Like this is going, this ishappening again.
We're going, you know.
Um, so I thought it was atestament to, I thought it was a
testament to Day of how heprepared for that game.
Um, I think he knew he learnedhis lessons.
And what you're seeing fromRyan Day is just a coach that
(47:39):
has matured.
I think everybody, everybodyforgets that Ryan Day was not a
head coach before he started atOhio State.
He was an assistant, he had nohead coaching experience on the
collegiate level.
He got thrown into you know atop three program in college
football.
And on a national stage, we'vehad to watch this guy mature.
(48:00):
And the loss last year toMichigan um, you know, was a
hundred percent a tipping pointfor the program and for Ryan.
And he and he answered thebell.
Um, and he's a you can justtell he's a different, he's a
different coach this year.
From his press conferences tothe way that they play to the
way that he, you know, if weremember last year, everything
(48:22):
was he had to prove that theywere the toughest team, and he
was going after Lou Holtz, andhe's and and you know, Michigan
baited him into that game lastyear.
They baited them in the play inthe style that they wanted them
to play, and it worked out intheir their favor.
And I think you're looking at aguy that's comfortable in the
own skin.
Um, to talk about Ohio State,though, what I will what I will
say with that team is you know,Julian Saiyan, you know, has the
(48:47):
potential to be the bestquarterback that I've seen at
Ohio State, you know, in my inmy 42 years uh of being here.
And that's saying somethingbecause CJ Stroud had a had a
phenomenal, had a phenomenal uhtwo years at Ohio State.
Um, but the accuracy in which Isee that Julian Saiyan plays
with is it's is amazing.
(49:07):
But what I'll tell you, Rock,is the level, the composure that
Saiyan plays with is prettyspecial.
Um now again, I will say Idon't know who Ohio State's been
tested against yet.
Um so we will see uh as thoughyou know that Indiana's gonna be
a test, and then look, when weget to the playoff, everybody's
a challenge at that point.
Um but you're throwing the twobest weapons in college
(49:31):
football, make gotta make yourjob a little bit easier um if
you're Julian as well.
But they've been a they've beena blast to watch this year for
sure.
Speaker 3 (49:38):
So I think this too
is when you win the national
championship like you did lastyear, coming in this year.
It's like you can see a sigh ofrelief uh on Ryan Bay's face.
I will say when this can gotoff, they kick the field goal,
they intercept him, and lookingin the sideline, it's like he's
gotta be sitting there saying,Here we go again.
Not again.
(49:59):
Maybe there's a shot.
They punch one in, you go up10-0, yeah, you're at home.
You never know what couldhappen.
I'm gonna tip my hat to Matt,Patricia.
Losing losing as many guys, Cbus, as they did like now.
Don't get me wrong, SonnyStyles, they they got dudes on
all of them.
And I'm gonna say this (50:16):
I don't
think they've been tested all
year.
Like they didn't have to theydidn't have to play USC, who
they would have beat.
They would have beat USC.
They didn't have to play Oregonthis year.
Now, to their credit, they beatan almighty team that came in
three seasons, ranked in aboutthe top 10, top 15.
They kind of disappointed alittle bit.
Penn State, obviously, thatgame.
(50:37):
I think if they were what athree-touchdown favorite.
I was like, if you would havetold me to start the season,
Ohio State was a three-touchdownfavorite to Penn State.
What I want to see for theBuckeyes is I want to see a
close game.
I want to see Faye with theball in his hands late.
Now, when you got the studsthat they have on the outside,
it makes the game a lot easier.
He hasn't been precious, andthat was the last couple years,
(51:00):
I would say, with Michigan.
I don't know what you got todo, but they got to him, right?
That Michigan front four was inthe back.
And I don't care how good of aquarterback you are, right?
Jake, you know that.
If you can get to thequarterback, you're gonna make
them uncomfortable.
Michigan never got, like, Idon't think they got to the
quarterback once.
He's had all day to throw.
(51:21):
So I want to see if a team canget to him, and I want to see in
a close game what happens.
Yeah.
Speaker (51:30):
I I don't disagree.
I think you know, Ohio Statecouldn't have asked for a better
schedule and a better breakdownfor a way to assimilate Julian
Saiyan into his college career,right?
They had a tough game againstTexas to start the year and they
absolutely babied him.
I think Saiyan threw the ballmaybe 14 times that entire that
entire first game.
They let the defense win him,let him win him that first game.
(51:54):
And then ever since then, it'sjust been a little bit more, a
little bit more.
We're gonna give you a littlebit more on, you know, the let
Saiyan kind of that sign ofsaying kind of develop.
What I think's been the thechange for Ohio State that I and
I rock, I share everything yousaid.
I want to see him be tested, Iwant to see some of those
things.
But um, I thought the big, thebig change for Ohio State the
last month of the season wasthey found their run game.
(52:16):
You know, they the talk downhere the first two months of the
season was, you know, can werun the ball when we have to run
the ball?
And I thought the I thought thethe most resounding answer was
the 18-play drive or whateverthey went, you know, against
Michigan, where they took up 10minutes of of game time and they
ended up kicking a field goal,but I think everybody knew it
didn't matter.
By that point, the by the timehe got the clock and the kick
(52:39):
the field goal, everybody knewMichigan wasn't gonna be able to
overcome that deficit umregardless.
But Matt Patricia's been abreath of fresh air here.
I think he's probably thehottest, uh hottest name that
everybody's been talking about.
You see a lot of people withpencils in their ears.
My niece is a uh is a freshmanat Ohio State.
Um, and you know, she tells medown and down on campus as
(53:00):
people are going to game,everybody's got a pencil in
their ear, everybody's a bigMatt Patricia fan.
But you know, similar to whatyou said, Jake, about um you
know, about Venables, I youknow, I think Patricia runs a
very similar style from thestandpoint of he shows you one
thing and they're in a completedifferent coverage.
You think they're in zone andthey're playing matchup man, or
(53:21):
you think they're you thinkthey're you think the
linebackers are you know areplaying are playing the flats
and all of a sudden they'rebringing they're you know
they're stunting and coming inon a blitz.
You know, he's he's fun towatch from a fan perspective to
see how he puts those players ina position to be successful.
And they love him.
Those players, uh, you know, tosee a coach come in first year,
those those players are eatingeverything up that he has to
(53:43):
say.
And why wouldn't they with theperformance that they've had
this year?
Speaker 1 (53:46):
I mean, you could see
it with the quarterback,
Julian, even from that firstgame, like you said, baby him
and then the Michigan game,fourth and what, two or one, and
they throw a slate and go tohim out there, and he drops it
in the bucket out there.
So you can definitely see he'scome a long ways, and you know,
it definitely helps that youhave a clean pocket, but it also
helps when you got studs on theoutside, too.
Speaker (54:05):
So it's you know
quarterback's best friend,
right?
I mean, yeah, Jeremiah JeremiahSmith is uh is definitely a
unicorn.
Uh, I talk about seeing thebest quarterback I've seen in a
long time.
Tough to say Jeremiah Smith'sthe best receiver that come
through Ohio State, but boy, uhit he puts up another year next
year, like he's put those firsttwo.
(54:25):
He's gonna put that to bed inno time.
Yeah.
Rocky (54:29):
So C bus, you guys lose
Brian Hartline, but he's gonna
coach through the playoff.
I was really surprised thatHartline.
They said he was a candidatefor the Penn State job, and I
said if I was Penn State, I'dactually I'd hire him, get him
in there, a young guy, right?
What's your thoughts onHartline leaving?
Big blow.
Speaker (54:47):
Yeah, for sure.
I mean, look, as a I mean, welost the the recruiting blow was
huge.
The timing, we talk abouttiming.
Last thing you want to see, uh,two hours in the national early
national signing day, your uhyour wide receiver coach and
offensive coordinator that'sbeen brought this lineage of
wide receivers with him, uh,announces that he's going, and
we felt the immediate impactwith Chris Henry Jr.
(55:08):
not committing and and Mikeflipped to Oregon, which is uh
you know was gonna sting, andI'm sure Cody will tell me um
about it later.
But um, you know, it it was I Iwill say I am extremely happy
for for Harlein.
He's a buckeye through andthrough.
Um, I loved him when he washere.
Um, I like watching him in thepros.
Um and has been the journeythat he's taken as a coach here.
(55:31):
You know, he's a he he he was ahe was a grat assistant.
He walked out, he he walkeddown.
He was he didn't have officialtitle when he virtually started
at Ohio State and has worked hisway all the way up um to now to
now be the now go be the coachum you know at USF I think is is
phenomenal.
So I'm rooting I'm rooting likecrazy for him.
Um I it stinks, but you know, II also know that this everybody
(55:54):
in that program had to knowthis was to be expected.
If it wasn't this year, it wasa hundred percent going to be
next year.
Um his stop.
Were you surprised at theschool, though?
Yeah, I mean, I think a I thinka little bit, Jake.
Um, but the more I thoughtabout it, you know, for him,
what a great spot.
For you know, he he obviouslyplayed with the dolphins, so he
(56:16):
knows he knows that area reallywell.
He recruits that area reallywell, right?
Jeremiah Smith and and some ofthose boys came came came from
Florida, so that that definitelythat definitely helps him.
Um, and I think it's a greatprogram to where he can go and
and establish some success, butthe expectations are not going
to be through the roof when hefirst gets there.
(56:38):
I think he's gonna have sometime.
And and Buckeye fans thought isif Heartline you know continues
on this trend when Ryan, youknow, when Ryan either decides
to hang him up or maybe go tothe league, or you know, maybe
decides, maybe decides he wantsa new challenge, maybe that's
the guy that they tap on theshoulder to come back um after
he goes cuts his cuts his teethelsewhere.
(57:00):
So, you know, it's bittersweet,uh, you know, for sure.
I'm super happy that he'sstaying.
Um, you know, we talked aboutKiffin, and you know, then all
of a sudden we we look at theexact opposite where I think uh
you know Heartline's gonna stickit out for him.
So, you know, I think there's alot of trepidation, but then
again, I look at the last couplehires that Ryan Dayes made um,
(57:20):
you know, from a coordinatorperspective.
Chip Kelly uh was definitelywork, run him a national
championship, whether or not I'ma huge Chip Kelly fan's up for
debate, and then um, you know,and then and then you look at
and then and then you look atPatricia this year, right?
So, you know, uh they theyshouldn't have any problem
bringing in a top-tiercoordinator to want to go coach.
They could, they could, but Imean, you know, I think I think
(57:43):
the long list of applicants willbe pretty long.
Who doesn't want to be theoffensive coordinator of Ohio
State with with the weapons thatthey have uh and the program
that they have?
So it will it would befascinating for us to see, you
know, who steps in.
Speaker 1 (57:55):
But how state fans
are he's almost turned out like
Alabama with Nick Saban.
Hey, we're gonna get this guy,redirect his career, blow up,
and everyone wants to go there.
Speaker (58:04):
On to the next, right?
Yeah, I mean, how state fansare smart.
I think the the bigger concernwasn't the X's and O's with
Heartline Leaving, it was therecruiting, right?
That's what everybody wasworried about.
And it it wasn't necessarily,you know, I think everybody
recognizes that he's a goodcoach, but everybody's worried
about losing him on therecruiting trail because the
wide receivers that he's broughtin for the last six years has
been second to none.
So that's gonna be the hardpart.
Rocky (58:26):
I'll say this, guys, when
you got talent, it makes
coaches look all that muchbetter in the world, man.
Speaker (58:31):
100%.
Rocky (58:32):
You go to Ohio State, you
just can't screw it up.
But uh C Boss Matt Patricia'sfrom Cheryl, New York, which is
not too far from from us here.
It's about 15-20 minutes.
Okay.
I did hear not too long ago,there's a good chance University
of Connecticut is gonna comecalling for him to bring him
back this way.
So it'll be interesting to seeat the end of the year um what
(58:54):
happens with Patricia.
He's he's from right back herein our hometown.
So I'm trying to get him on foran interview.
I'm trying to get someconnection to see if I could
talk to the guy.
Speaker (59:02):
I don't know.
I don't know if he, you know, Ihaven't really heard him say if
his desire is to be a headcoach again or not, right?
I I don't I don't know.
I mean, this was kind of hisfirst dip of the toe in the
college game, and you know, andI so I I'll be curious to see if
that's a challenge that hewants to take on.
Um, but I can't blame him.
Look, his stock is his stock'sat an all-time's at all-time
(59:24):
high, right?
Speaker 1 (59:24):
So his family's still
what near the Patriot or
Boston, aren't they?
Still kind of I think so.
Rocky (59:31):
Which I think that's one
of the reasons why they're
saying maybe bring him back thisway, East Coast guy.
I don't know.
I wouldn't leave Ohio State asa coordinator to come coach the
University of Connecticut, but Iwouldn't.
Speaker 1 (59:40):
And there's another
coach that was interesting to
leave Connecticut to go ColoradoState.
Rocky (59:45):
Jim Mora.
Yeah, a hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (59:48):
Yeah, agree.
Rocky (59:49):
So guys, you ready to
pick some games?
Speaker (59:50):
Let's do it.
Rocky (59:51):
Let's pick some games
here.
So we'll start with uh theAmerican Conference and then
both these guys, both thesecoaches got other jobs.
So But they're still going tobe allowed to coach here.
So Tulane, 10-2, North Texas.
Tulane's actually getting twoand a half.
I'm actually to go with Tulanein this game.
I like both teams.
(01:00:12):
Maybe the winner gets one ofthe second at large into the
playoffs.
So we'll see.
But I'm going to go withTulane, C bus.
Speaker (01:00:19):
Give me Tulane as well.
I think they're a smidge.
Smidge better.
I think got a couple moreweapons on offense.
I think they'll score justenough to squeak past this one.
So I'm right there with you.
I like Tulane as well.
Rocky (01:00:35):
Jake, how about you?
Speaker 1 (01:00:38):
Oh, I go back and
forth.
You know, I think Tulane'splayed a better schedule, a
little bit tougher, you know,going outside.
I know it's Duke.
I know it's, you know, theyplayed Old Mess compared to
North Texas, didn't play thosetype of quality teams.
So I think I'm going to goTulane.
I think with both coachesleaving off.
The other one stayed, then itwould be a different story.
(01:00:59):
But since they're kind of inthe same boat, I'm going to go
with Tulane.
Rocky (01:01:03):
All right.
So we're all in agreementthere.
The Big 12, these two teamsplayed earlier in the year, and
uh Texas Tech beat them, Ithink, by two or three scores.
Um, so many people are sayingthat if BYU wins, both these two
teams are both going to get in.
If Texas Tech wins, BYU is out.
Um, can probably debate it.
But uh, I'm gonna go with TexasTech again.
(01:01:25):
I'm gonna lay that, I'm evengonna lay the 12 and a half.
I don't think it's close.
I think Texas Tech's a team CBuster, I think, could make a
really deep run.
They're pretty good up front.
Speaker (01:01:33):
Yeah, I think um
they're a bit of an enigma to
me, right?
I I don't know how much I trustthe Big 12, but I agree with
you.
Every time I watch them, umthey they dominate the line of
scrimmage way more than I wouldexpect to see uh a Big 12 team,
you know, to execute.
Um, I will I'm gonna take TexasTech as well.
However, I don't think theycover.
(01:01:54):
I think BYU uh has a nothing tolose mentality here.
I think they get to let it allhang out.
I think Texas Tech knowsthey're already in.
They are paying for a buy,though.
Um so there is a little bit ofmotivation there uh for Texas
Tech, not to mention you knowtheir best season since Michael
Kravche, right?
So um, yeah, I'll I'll takeI'll take Texas Tech, but I
think closer than people think.
Rocky (01:02:16):
Jake, you think they
cover?
You like them?
Speaker 1 (01:02:18):
Oh, that's a tough
one.
I mean, what's funny is we'retalking Texas Tech's defense.
When was the last time we weretalking about their defense?
They've always been the aeratedoffense.
Now their defense is up frontand so on.
So you know, C Bus makes agreat point.
BYU has really nothing to lose,you know.
So and that's their only lossof the season.
So I don't think they're gonna,I I think Texas Tech's gonna
(01:02:42):
win, but on a last second fieldgoal.
So they, you know, I don'tthink Texas Tech will cover the
points, but they'll win thegame.
Rocky (01:02:48):
You know what I think sad
though, even with if BYU loses,
they could say they're twolosses this year to our team
that's gonna go to the playoffsand they they probably have that
argument.
Um, the Big 12 obviously was alittle down this year, but um, I
like Texas Tech.
You go back, man.
We got Russ has stole MikeLeach, one of my favorite
all-time coaches in collegefootball.
I remember the run he tookTexas Tech on when he was there,
(01:03:10):
so I gotta I gotta roll withTexas Tech.
Speaker 1 (01:03:12):
I mean, this shows
you too that NIO money what can
do with that.
Oh that's cool down there.
It's just even softball, youtalk about any sport now.
Speaker (01:03:20):
Good, good, good call,
I think.
It's not the last time we'regonna be talking about Texas
Tech.
You're 100% right.
Rocky (01:03:25):
So, guys, Bama's had
Georgia's number even in the
Nick Sabin era.
Calin De Boer gave Georgiatheir only loss this year, but I
think Georgia's playing reallywell right now.
I think defensively, it lookslike a Kirby smart defense
didn't start that way for thisyear.
Gunnar Stockton's playingreally well.
All the Calen De Boer came outand said, I don't know why
people are linking me to thePenn State job.
You think Alabama's got theirnumber?
(01:03:47):
I like Georgia.
I know Bama beat them earlier.
I'm gonna roll Georgia.
Bama's a two and a half dog inthis game.
Who do you like, Jake?
Speaker 1 (01:03:55):
I think I'm gonna go
with Bama.
I just I think Bama hassomething about it, you know,
and I know they beat him earlierat their place, which was a
great win, but I I'm not sold onthe Stockton kid at Georgia.
I think he makes he's a highand low guy, you know, he plays
off emotions, he could have abad game.
We've seen him kind of not howdo I say this, like them not
(01:04:19):
rely on him so much, you know,and he think we need him to make
a play, and he doesn't.
Where I the Alabama kid, youknow, he's he was in talks for
the Heisman trophy at one point,and he is a different
quarterback than they've had inthe past, and he's pretty
accurate.
And I I have more faith in himas a quarterback, so I'm gonna
go with Alabama.
Rocky (01:04:37):
See you, bus.
Speaker (01:04:39):
Yeah, I mean, this is
look, this is a this tough game.
I'm I I I maybe I'm crazy.
I don't think the SEC is thatgood this year.
I I think they're a bunch of Ithink that all the teams are
about the same in the SEC.
I think they got a lot of goodteams and not a lot of great
teams.
Not a really a great team inSEC.
Um that being said, I thinkGeorgia is really beat up.
I think they're beat up on theoffensive line.
(01:04:59):
I think that I think thatKirby, if you had given true
serum, I don't think he wantedto play in this game, to be
honest with you.
I think he wanted the week offthe rest, similar to what you
were saying, Rock, about whatGruden was talking about earlier
this week.
Yep.
So with that being said, uhBama knows they have to win.
Um, and I think the board knowshe quite honestly has to win
this game um to keep to keep thepitchforks at bay.
(01:05:21):
Um, so I'm gonna I'm gonna takeBama.
Um, I'm not comfortable withthe pick, but I'm gonna take
him.
Rocky (01:05:27):
The only thing I'll say,
guys, I like Georgia because I
don't think Ty Simpson's playedthat well the last couple weeks
for Alabama.
He's struggling.
And I think Georgia's defenseis playing bad, but I think you
guys are right.
I don't think Kirby wants to bein this game at all, but we'll
see.
I think if Bama finds a way, ifthey do lose, we'll see what
happens with Kalen DeBore if heif he is rumored for any of
these other jobs.
Speaker (01:05:49):
Yeah, agreed.
Rocky (01:05:50):
All right.
Arguably probably the two bestteams in the country.
I think Indiana's probably gotthe best win this year at Oregon
on the roads.
You can probably say that's thebest win.
I mean, they've kind of beensimilar to Ohio State, C Bus.
They've blown everybody out ofthe building.
Uh, this could be the Heismangame for Saiyan and Mendoza.
Whoever plays well probablygets the Heisman trophy.
(01:06:10):
Um, Indiana has basicallysmashed everybody they've
played.
Ohio State minus four and ahalf.
C Bus, I'll start with you.
I know you're gonna probablyroll buck guys, but is this game
close?
Speaker (01:06:24):
So I I'm gonna I'm
gonna say I I I'm going with the
House State, obviously.
I I don't I think the HighState wins by I think the House
State wins by 10, to be to behonest with you.
Um I think that Indiana isgood.
I'm not, I don't wanna, I thinkwhat Signetti has done there is
incredible.
I I've been joking.
I'm watching this out of I'mwatching this game out of two
lenses.
Uh Rock knows I'm a diehardBrowns fan, like it or not.
(01:06:46):
Um so I'm I'm I'm watching iton one eye because I want to see
how Mendoza does againstPatricia's defense to see if I
think that he's see if I thinkthat it's worthy for my Browns
to to maybe try to make a moveto to draft him.
Um I just think Ohio State'sdefense is too much.
Um I think Indiana doesstruggle to stop the ground
game.
Um and I think Ohio State'srunning game is is starting to
(01:07:10):
is really starting to turn thecorner.
And putting Jeremiah Smith andCarnell Tate indoors on a fast
track on turf, I think over thecourse of four quarters is going
to be tough.
I think Indiana comes out hot.
They're gonna have the homefield advantage.
Um, hottest ticket in town.
I think I read the cheapestticket right now is $588 to go
sit in the nose bleeds um atLucas Oil on Saturday night.
(01:07:32):
Um so I think I think it's aclose game for a while.
I think Ohio State pulls awayum maybe midway through the
fourth quarter.
Um would I be surprised ifIndiana plays them closer wins?
Not necessarily, but I thinkOhio State's I think Ohio
State's on a mission um to winthe Big Ten.
So one thing they hasn't done.
Um one the Natty hasn't found away to hasn't found a way to
(01:07:54):
win the Big Ten championship.
And I think this is I thinkthis one means I think this one
means more to Ryan um and thatuniversity than maybe people
realize.
Rocky (01:08:03):
Jake, who you like?
Speaker 1 (01:08:06):
I think it's gonna be
a close game.
I think it's one of those theones that coaches are gonna be
every play kind of countingevery guy to make sure they're
getting up so they can stayhealthy for the good playoff
run.
You know, it's almost like bothof them probably would almost
rather just have the buy.
Okay, we go right into there,and we both had buys.
So and I think that mentality,you know, with Indiana.
(01:08:29):
I'm gonna go Ohio State withtheir run game, like C Bus said.
But I think it's just gonna beclose with a lot of teams just
kind of running the ball andalmost like, let's bleed the
clock, let's keep it close.
It'll be better for both teamsno matter what.
We'll both get buys.
Where if one team blows themout, well, you know, it makes
their their conference look bad,and it's a chance for you to
possibly hurt some of your guys.
(01:08:50):
So I see them just kind ofbeing more hesitant, kind of
storing stuff for the playoffrun and everything, and not
showing too much out there.
Rocky (01:08:59):
Dude, how Ohio State's
gonna blow them out.
I don't even think this game'sclose.
I think C bus, I'm gonna gomore than you, I'm gonna say
they beat them by two or moretouchdowns.
I think they're that muchbetter.
Um, if it's close, I I probablysay won't be surprised.
Maybe Indiana is for real.
I I don't know.
But in the world we live intoday, when would we see the
head coach at Indiana turn downthe job at Penn State?
(01:09:23):
Yeah, like are that's the worldthat we live in.
Um, that he's staying atIndiana that now has NIL money.
Um they said Indiana's like oneof the largest schools with the
biggest alumni booster club inthe world.
And I'm like, the Indiana coachare gonna stay there and not go
to Penn State, and turn it downquickly, too.
(01:09:43):
Exactly.
I mean, he had to have the bestline.
We said, All I do is win.
Google me.
I mean, come on.
What do you guys think?
That's in two years, the runthat they've been on, I think,
is unbelievable.
I mean, he's cocky, he'sarrogant.
Um, but I give him a lot ofcredit for what he's doing in
Indiana.
But Ohio State runs the table.
They're gonna beat him by twoor more scores.
I I just don't see Indiana.
(01:10:04):
Again, if it's close andIndiana beats him, maybe
Indiana's really for real.
Um, I'll still say that I thinkIndiana's got the best win all
season at Oregon um on theirschedule.
But again, I don't thinkIndiana really played anybody um
on that schedule.
Speaker (01:10:19):
I think Jake's right,
too.
I think there is a little bitof a throttling question as to
how how much they how much doboth schools open it up in in
this game, how much do they wantit?
Um you know, and how much dothey want to sell sell it all
the way out, knowing thatthey're gonna, you know, knowing
that they're gonna have theplayoff, uh, both of them
waiting on them.
The other thing is, too, is youknow, I I flash back to last
(01:10:41):
year, right?
Indiana was on this great run.
They came in the they came inthe Columbus and the game was
the game was the game was Icould tell the game was over by
midway through the secondquarter because there was no way
that Indiana could could holdup on the line of scrimmage um
against Ohio State.
So that's that is gonna be thethat's gonna be the matchup that
I have my eyes on is canIndiana, um, can Indiana bang
(01:11:02):
with them.
The other thing that OhioState's been really interesting
with, and obviously, you know,um just a just a rags of riches
at times with the with OhioState, but you know, they
they've sat a lot of guys thatprotecting redshirts um that you
know once you get to the onceyou get to the conference
championship game in theplayoff, it does not count
towards your redshirt game.
So Ohio State has a couplekids, um, even uh CJ Hicks, who
(01:11:23):
is a redshirt junior, um, whorushed the passer really well
the first couple weeks of theseason, and also we didn't see
him.
He'll be playing um this game.
So I wouldn't be surprised ifyou see a couple uh you see a
couple guys for Ohio State makeplays that you're gonna go,
wait, what?
Who's that?
And then you're gonna go, oh,he's been sitting for the last
seven games because Ohio State'shad that luxury.
So they got some fresh bodiesthat maybe uh all of a sudden
(01:11:45):
make an appearance on Saturdaynight.
Rocky (01:11:49):
So the other one, guys,
last one here.
Duke gets seven and fiveplaying for the ACC title
against um Tony Elliott, who Ithink's done a fantastic job at
Virginia, who was really on hisway out coming into the year,
was on a tight leash, 10-2.
If Duke wins this thing, wemight get two at-large bids from
(01:12:10):
the winner of Tulane in NorthTexas, and maybe James Madison
um that would get in.
Any chance Duke gets them?
Speaker (01:12:22):
I I'm gonna say, I'm
gonna say there's a chance.
Um, I I think you know thething I like about Duke is they
can score like that, right?
Their offense, I think theythey have one of the quickest,
um, they have one of thequickest like touchdown drive
ratios.
I think it's I can't rememberhow many minute and a half
drives that they have to scoretouchdowns this year.
It's crazy.
Um, so I I think I thinkthere's a I think there's a
(01:12:44):
chance.
I just think Virginia, toomany, too many guys.
Um, it still comes still comesdown to still comes down to the
players in the roster.
I do think Duke's gonna keepthis.
I do think Duke's gonna keepthis close.
I wouldn't be surprised if uhVirginia kicks a field goal late
um to win that game.
I also haven't seen what youknow, they still play that game
outside, right?
So I haven't seen what theweather's gonna be like um there
(01:13:07):
in the ACC championship game aswell, because I think they I
think they I think that's stilloutside.
So if it is, I'll keep an eyeon that one as well.
So um give me Virginia, but uhI think it's gonna be I think
it's gonna be entertaining.
I think you're gonna be, Ithink people are gonna be
surprised at a seven to fiveteams hanging with hanging with
uh Virginia, but I think it'sgonna be I think it'll be
interesting.
Rocky (01:13:24):
Jake, you going the same
way?
Speaker 1 (01:13:26):
Yeah, I'm leaning the
same way.
It's just funny how the ACC,you got that many guys or that
many teams tied SMU, Miami,Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, and
them, and it's like the lowestrecord, seven to five, goes to
the tiebreaker somehow, which Icouldn't even quite understand.
And it's like one of yourtiebreakers wasn't okay after
(01:13:48):
the third force, who's rankedhigher in the house, you know,
and I I I bet you they'll changethat down the road because it
could be easily now.
We have Miami in the playoffs,and it's a whole different or
the championship game, it's awhole different story.
But just amazing how we had togo that far with computers to
just decide it was Duke.
I mean, like C Bus says, uh Ithink Duke's been hot the last
(01:14:10):
two games, beating Wake, beatingtheir rival North Carolina, so
they're kind of hot right now.
But Virginia also, you know,it's been consistent most of the
time all year, other than theweek.
But I think it's gonna be aclose, and I could see part of
me almost want to say I want tosee Duke wins it, and that's
(01:14:30):
what you get ACC for having thattiebreaker that we're gonna
have no one in the playoffs, andwe screwed ourselves as an ACC
fan.
So I'm actually gonna go withDuke.
I think Duke might pull it offat a last second field goal.
Rocky (01:14:43):
All right.
Well, if there's anybody thatbenefited from like the scenario
of the what ifs, Duke had everywhat if go right for him.
The last week, every team theyneeded to lose lost uh to get
in.
And Manny Diaz is another namethat was rumored for that Penn
State job.
So we'll see if uh if they canpull a stunner off.
So well, guys, look, we're outof time.
Speaker 1 (01:15:03):
Diaz and Crystal
Ball, Diaz will be the front or
win a conference championshipbefore he does.
I guess those two are prettygood or tight uh coaches
together.
Rocky (01:15:13):
So, guys, hopefully uh
we'll run this back again.
We'll see if we can get CoachKramer, I think, said he'd be
good to go the next time.
We'll see if uh Medicus hashoops.
Um, my audio, I was battling onbehind the scenes here, guys,
that we were going throughoutthe show.
I don't know what happened.
My my thing kicked off on me.
So hopefully I was it was ableto get through this thing.
But it's good to have you bothon to talk some football, and
(01:15:35):
uh, I'll be messaging you guysto uh to do it again very soon
and uh look forward to theweekend.
Speaker (01:15:41):
Absolutely, boys.
Good section up with everybody.
Thanks for having us, Rob.
Rocky (01:15:44):
All right, thanks.
Speaker (01:15:46):
So we're having fun.
Thank you.
Rocky (01:15:47):
Heck yeah.
So I was telling these guys Iwas battling behind the scenes
here.
My my audio's been in and out,and I don't know if it's because
we're getting some remodelingdone upstairs and the wires and
stuff.
So hopefully I was able to getthrough this thing.
Great to have the guys back onhere tonight.
We'll have Coach Kramer andsome of the other guys on um
throughout the playoffs, and uh,we'll probably bump this thing
(01:16:07):
back next week or the followingweek.
So hopefully everybody enjoystonight's show.
So the rock pile is wheredreams become reality.
Have a good evening, everybody.